Synopsis: Orthodox Bajorans object to secular teachings about the wormhole in the station’s school, causing tensions between fundamentalists and the Starfleet crew.
Review: All season long there were hints about tension between the Federation and the Bajoran people. It’s all slammed home in a hurry here, as we’re introduced to the wicked Vedek Winn (Louise Fletcher, who makes Nurse Ratched seem sunshine and roses here) and the more amiable Vedek Bareil. It’s the final episode of season one that was needed.
Synopsis: Sisko is recalled to San Francisco after a terrorist bombing reveals that Changelings have reached Earth. While Starfleet tightens security measures on Earth, Sisko and Odo discover that Admiral Leyton is deviously plotting to take over the planet.
Review: Morn doesn’t get a joke about Andorians! Morn’s the best.
This is an above-average episode about how the Dominion sow seeds of paranoia without actually having to a whole lot. The scene where Odo freaks out the President by shapeshifting in front of him is solid, and the scene where Odo recognizes a shapeshifter has taken the place of Leyton is also a chilling moment. Unfortunately other scenes are ruined by grandiose emoting and endless exposition where character’s state every emotion they’re feeling instead of just letting the viewer pick up on them. The President especially is guilty of this, though Leyton is at times as well. Sisko even gets in on the action. “I was hoping that this would never happen. But it finally has. The Changelings have reached Earth.”
Synopsis: When Cardassians arrest Miles O’Brien for working with the Maquis, he’s put on a Cardassian trial, where the verdict is known before the trial begins: guilty.
Review: We finally get to see Cardassia! While the “guilty before proven innocent” trope is overused, this is a nice twist, with “guilty and the trial is only to satisfy the public morale.” The idea of a defense attorney just there to convince his client to admit guilt is great fun, and Kovat does the role justice. Odo being able to be at the trial is a pretty significant contrivance, but it’s needed for the story to go anywhere. His being an annoying mosquito during the proceedings makes for good drama.
Synopsis: A transporter accident replaces the characters in Bashir’s secret agent holosuite program with the physical forms of the station’s senior staff.
Review: Now this is classic Trek comedy. Episodes about these kind of one-note characters can easily fall flat (e.g. most episodes about Zoidberg in Futurama), but this one is a blast. Morn’s death brings out so much backstory (delivered with some excellent deadpan) that I was giddy the whole way through. I was a little less enamored with Quark’s chase for Morn’s estate, especially since every single step of it was predictable. The characters who played his adversaries, though, were great. I especially liked the two brothers who were chasing the money and none of the actors overplayed their roles as thieves.
Review: While predictable that they would have Jake meet his mother’s doppelganger in the mirror universe, it was necessary and executed really well. Jennifer’s transformation from using her mirror universe’s husband’s child to lure him over to genuinely connecting with her son is a beautiful thing to watch. Lofton plays it pretty well too, and an episode that could have been saccharine is pretty powerful. My only criticism is Jennifer’s death, which would have been powerful had she just died, but because it’s a TV show we get to see her slowly die and give one final heartfelt speech before dying two seconds later. It’s a trope I hate every time.
Synopsis: Sisko attempts to prevent more Dominion ships from entering the Alpha Quadrant by mining the wormhole; Gul Dukat responds by launching a massive assault fleet against the station..
Review: Going into this episode I knew it was preparing for the future of Season 6 and it didn’t disappoint. While it didn’t have the intensity of Best of Both Worlds: Part 1, it did a great job of building a similar dread without much exposition. The fake diplomatic conversation between Sisko and Weyoun was great. And the first big battle was a tour de force. The writers did an excellent job setting up the war with a significant loss for the Federation.
Review: Unlike TNG, DS9 was able to send off their second season with the bang it needed. We finally meet some of the big players in the Dominion, and can fear them, too. They’re not invincible like the Borg, but they’re willing to kamikaze into Galaxy class starships, so holy hell do they mean business. What’s left unsaid is more powerful here than what is said.
Review: Season one finally begins to pick up with this episode, where the imaginations of the crew come to life in the form of Rumplestiltskin, Buck Bokai (who, incidentally, does not appear to have the physique of a shortstop, or the greatest player ever for that matter), and Bashir’s fantasy version of Dax who is completely submissive to him.
Synopsis: During a supply run to AR-558, Sisko finds the defending Starfleet unit with over two thirds of the troops dead and the remaining soldiers’ morale extremely low. When the Defiant comes under attack, Sisko, Bashir, Dax, Nog, and Quark choose to remain on the planet, which is about to come under attack by a much larger contingent of Jem’Hadar soldiers.
Review: We have another “war sucks” episode, though this one is done better than most. There’s real tension in the silence. However, I was left feeling at many points they could have done it better.
Death By Troggles 
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